Refrigerated cabinet having movable condenser



1954 w. G. SPIEGELHALTER 2,669,853

REFRIGERATED CABINET HAVING MOVABLE CONDENSER Filed Jan. 5, 1952 q x, W

3 9 6 1 1 |l.-|l L Inventor: William Gspieggelhaltel His Attorney.

Patented Feb. 23, 1954 REFRIGERATED CABINET HAVING MOVABLE CONDENSERWilliam Spiegelhaltcr, (mineral Electric Comp New York Erie, Pa.,assignor to any, a. corporation of Application January '5, 1952,, SerialNo. 265,085

6 Claims.

ever, particularly in the case of food freezers,

where amuch greater load is imposed relative to the size of the cabinetinvolved because ofthe low temperature maintainedwithin the refrigeratedcabinet, the space available at the rear wall of the cabinet may beinsufficient to accommodate a condenser of the required capacity. By myinvention, a condenser construction is provided which includesadditional heat transfer surface making the condenseradequate evenforrefrigerated cabinets, such as, food freezersyopere ating at very lowtemperatures. In addition by my invention the condenser iseasily andconveniently mounted on the cabinet. Moreover, the condenser may bearranged so that it is maintained in spaced relationship to the rearwall during normal operation andyet can be moved close to the rear wallif'necessary to decrease the over-all depth of the refrigerated cabinetso as to permit movement of the cabinet through narrow doorways.

Accordingly, it is an object ofmy invention to provide a refrigeratedcabinet including an improved condenser construction and mountingarrangement.

It is another object. of my inventionto' provide a condenser arrangementfor refrigerated cabinets which includes a large heat dissipating area.

"It is a further object of my invention to provide a refrigeratedcabinet including an improved arrangement for adiustably mounting acondenseron a refrigerated cabinet.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds, and the features of novelty whichcharacterize my inventionwill be pointed outwith particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

In carrying out the objects ofmy invention, a condenser isprovided'which includes aflat plate or sheet having a continuousrefrigerantmonducting conduit arranged in serpentine form thereon. Thiscontinuous conduit includes forwardly extending sections which arereceived within the space between the inner and outer walls of therefrigerated cabinet, and are arranged in heat exchange contact with theside portions of the outer wall. In this way, heat is dissipated fromthe condenser not only to the air flowing by convection over the flatsheet and the tubing secured thereto, but also to the side portions ofthe outer wall of the refrigerated cabinet. The forwardly extendingsections of the condenser may be mounted on the side portions of theouter wall in such a manner as to permit the flat plate and the tubingsecured thereto to be moved adjacent the rear wall of the refrigeratedcabinet when it is desired to reduce the depth of the cabinet.

For a better understanding of my invention reference may-be had to theaccompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a side elevation view, partlybroken away, ofa refrigerated cabinet incorporating an embodiment of myinvention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of a portion of the cabinet shownin Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation view of a portion of a refrigeratedcabinet illustrating a modified form of my invention.

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of a portion of the refrigerated cabinetincorporating this modified form of; my invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a refrigerated cabinetl, which, byway of example, may be a chest-type food freezer. Access to the interiorof the refrigerated cabinet is provided by an opening at the top, andthis excess opening is closed by-a hinged lid 2. The cabinet is cooledby a refrigerating system which includes a refrigerating unit (notshown), a condenser 3, and an evaporator (not shown), which may bedisposed within the food storage compartment or secured to'the linerthereof.

Therefrigerated cabinet includes an outer Wall 4, and a spaced innerwall 5, the inner wall defining a food storage compartment. The outerwallof the refrigerated cabinet includes a rear portion 6 and two sideportions, one of which is shown at 7.

The condenser 3 includes a flat sheet or plate 8--of metal andacontinuous refrigerant-conducting conduit or tubing 9, which is securedto the sheet 3 in any suitable manner, for example, by brazing. Thegeneral arrangement of a continuous refrigerant-conducting conduitbrazed to a flatsheet is, of course, not new, beinga conventionalconstruction now employed in condensers for many refrigerators. However,I have provided an additional feature which gives a substantiallyincreased capacity for the condenser and enables the employment of asocalled natural draft condenser even where the space available at therear wall of the cabinet is insufiicient to accommodate the condenser ofthe size needed to provide the necessary capacity. Thus, in addition toproviding the continuous refrigerantconducting conduit on the surface ofthe sheet 8, I have arranged sections or loops ll! of this conduitextending forwardly from the sides or ends of the sheet 8. Each of theseloops I is received in a corresponding opening in the rear portion 6 ofthe outer wall, one such opening being shown at H. While these sectionsor loops have been illustrated in the drawing only at one end of thesheet 8, it will be understood that they can, and usually would be,employed at both ends thereof. In the form illustrated, one such opennigII is provided for receiving each of the forwardly extending loops orsections in, but it will be understood that, if desired, a singleelongated opening extending from the top to the bottom of the condensercould be provided at each end of the rear portion 6.

As mentioned above, the sections or loops H] are received within theopenings H, and they extend into the space between the inner and outerwalls adjacent the side portions 1 of the outer wall 4. The loops l8 arepositioned in heat exchange contact with the inner surface of the sideportions of the outer wall 4. They may be maintained in such heatexchange contact in a number of ways, for example, by the force ex"erted by the compressible heat-insulating ma terial usually employedbetween the inner and outer walls, by a strap 12 which is secured at itsends 13 to the inner surface of the outer wall, for example by welding,and presses the tubing firmly against the outer wall, etc.

In order to prevent the entrance of moisture into the insulation spacethrough the openings ll, these openings are sealed by gaskets I4 ofcompressible material, such as rubber, and plates [5 which are adaptedto be pressed against gaskets l4. Plates iii are forced against thegaskets I4 by screws [6, which engage nuts mounted internally of therear portion 6 of the outer wall. The plates 15 are preferably securedto the sections I0 of the tubing, the tubing passing through openings inthese plates and being secured thereto in any suitable manner, as bybrazing or welding, to close these openings. While individualfrigerant-conducting conduit in heat exchange contact with the sideportions of the outer wall provide a substantially increased capacityfor the condenser. This enables a natural draft condenser to be employedwith refrigerated cabinets where the capacity is greater than could beprovided by the size condenser which could be installed in the usuallocation at the back of the cabinet. I am aware the condensers haveheretofore been employed in which the refrigerantconducting tubing ispositioned in contact with the outer wall, but I hav disclosed herein aunitary structure which includes a portion disposed in spacedrelationship to the rear walls so as to take advantage of the coolingeffect of the convection air currents where available and in addition, aportion engaging the side portion of the outer'wall to obtain theadditional heat dissipating capacity. In addition, the arrangementgaskets and plates have been shown for effecting sealing of the openingsH, a single gasket and plate may be employed, if desired, for sealingall of the openings at each end of the rear portion of the outer wall.Since the openings ll must be a small distance from the edge of the rearwall in order to provide a sealing surface for the gaskets l4, and sincethe loops IE] must fit closely adjacent the inner surface of the outerwall 4 for good heat exchange, the loops I0 are bent as indicated at[5a. The conduit is sufficiently resilient that the loops H] can bemoved inwardly to the limited extent necessary to permit entry of theends into the openings II and the loops will spring back against theouter wall 4 when the bends 15a have passed inwardly through theopenings II.

It can be seen that by the arrangement described, the provision of theadditional forwardly extending loops or sections of the continuousredisclosed makes possible a simple mounting of the condenser in thedesired location. The completed condenser is assembled on the cabinet bymerely inserting the forwardly extending loops it into the correspondingopenings in the rear portion of the outer wall of the cabinet, and thenscrewing the plate or plates 15 into position.

A modified form of my invention is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The samenumerals have been employed to designate corresponding parts in Figs. 1and 2 and in Figs. 3 and i. The refrigerated cabinet includes an outerwall 4 and an inner wall 5, the space therebetween being filled withsuitable heat insulating material ii. In the form shown in Figs. 3 and4, a corrugated sheet is provided adjacent the inner surface of each ofthe side portions 1 of the outer wall, one such sheet being shown at E8.Each corrugated sheet l8 includes a plurality of parallel sections IQ ofchannel section extending from the rear toward the front of therefrigerated cabinet. The sheet [8 is secured to the outerwall 4 in anysuitable manner, as by welding along a plurality of parallel stripportions 2i} thereof, disposed in contact with the inner surface of theouter wall. The ends of the channel sections I9 are closed at theforward portion of the refrigerator cabinet by forming the sheet 18 toengage the outer wall along a vertical strip 2| at this region. Thechannel sections [9 are, on the other hand, open at the rear endsthereof for receiving the forwardly extending loops or sections it ofthe condenser 3. By the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4, thenecessity for providing the sealing gaskets I4 and the plates I5 isavoided, since the channel sections is provide receiving openings forthe loops iii which are closed or sealed from the insulation spacebetween the inner and outer walls. Rear portion 6 of the outer wall issealed to the rear edge 22 of the corrugated sheet [8 in any suitablemanner, as by brazing or welding, so as to block access of moisture intothe insulation space.

The condenser 3 is assembled or mounted on the refrigerator cabinet inthe same general manner as the condenser shown in the form illustratedin Figs. 1 and 2, with the exception, as mentioned previously, that thesealing gaskets l4 and plates iii are omitted. In addition, the channelsections Iii are made of such size that the conduit 9 fits tightlytherein and is pressed by the channel sections firmly against the outerwall 4.

The form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 also lends itselfreadily to the collapsing of the condenser closely adjacent to the rearaeeasss portion 6 of the outer wall, when it is desired to reduce theover-all depth of the refrigerated cabinet, for example, for moving thecabinet through relatively narrow doorways. Since the conduit 9 isfrictionally held between the channel sections I9 and the side portions1 of the outer wall, the condenser 3 is merely pushed rearwardly untilthe desired spacing for normal operation between the rear portion 6 ofthe outer wall and the sheet 8 of the condenser is achieved. This maybe, for example, 3 to 4 inches. If, then, it is desired to reduce theover-all depth of the refrigerated cabinet, it is only necessary to pushthe condenser forwardly an additional amount until the conduit 9 securedto the plate 8 contacts the rear portion of the outer wall. After therefrigerated cabinet has been set in place, the condenser can easily bemoved rearwardly to give the desired spacing between the sheet 8 and therear portion 6 of the outer wall.

While I have shown and described specific embodiments of my invention, Ido not desire my invention to be limited to the particular constructionshown and described, and I intend by the appended claims to cover allmodifications within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

l. A refrigerated cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall spacedfrom said outer wall, said outer wall including a rear portion and twoside portions, a condenser spaced from said rear portion of said outerwall, said condenser comprising a flat sheet and a continuousrefrigerant-conducting conduit arranged in serpentine form and securedto said sheet, said conduit including sections extending forwardly fromsaid sheet at each end thereof, each of said sections being disposed inheat exchange contact with a corresponding one of said side portions ofsaid outer wall.

2. A refrigerated cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall spacedfrom said outer wall, said outer wall including a rear portion and twoside portions, a condenser spaced from said rear portion of said outerwall, said condenser comprising a flat sheet and a continuousrefrigerantconducting conduit arranged in serpentine form and secured tosaid sheet, said conduit including sections extending forwardly fromsaid sheet at each end thereof, each of said sections being disposed inheat exchange contact with the inner surface of a corresponding one ofsaid side portions of said outer wall.

3. A refrigerated cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall spacedfrom said outer wall, said outer wall including a rear portion and twoside portions, a condenser normally spaced from said rear portion ofsaid outer wall, said condenser comprising a flat sheet and a continuousrefrigerant-conducting conduit arranged in serpentine form and securedto said sheet, said conduit including sections extending forwardly fromsaid sheet at each end thereof, said rear portion of said outer wallhaving at least one opening therein adjacent each corresponding sideportion of said outer wall for receiving said sections, each of saidsections being disposed in the space between said inner and outer wallsand in heat exchange contact with a corresponding one of said sideportions of said outer wall, and means for sealing said openings.

4. A refrigerated cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall spacedfrom said outer wall, said outer Wall including a rear portion and twoside portions, a condenser normally spaced from said rear portion ofsaid outer wall, said condenser eomprising a flat sheet and a continuousrefrigerant-conducting conduit arranged in serpentine form and securedto said sheet, said conduit including sections extending forwardly fromsaid sheet at each end thereof, said rear portion of said outer wallhaving at least one opening therein adjacent each corresponding sideportion of said outer wall for receiving said sections, each of saidsections being disposed in the space between said inner and outer wallsand in heat exchange contact with a corresponding one of said sideportions of said outer wall, and means secured to said sections forsealing said openings.

5. A refrigerated cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall spacedfrom said outer wall, said outer wall including a rear portion and twoside portions, a condenser normally spaced from said rear portion ofsaid outer wall, said condenser comprising a flat sheet and a continuousrefrigerant-conducting conduit arranged in serpentine form and securedto said sheet, a second sheet secured to the inner surface of each ofsaid side portions of said outer wall, each of said second sheets havinghorizontal channels therein providing horizontal recesses between eachof said second sheets and the corresponding side portions of said outerwall, said conduit including a plurality of forwardly extending loopportions, each of said loop portions being slidably and frictionallyreceived within a corresponding one of said recesses whereby said condenser may be moved between a normal position wherein said condensersheet is spaced from said rear portion of said outer wall and a secondposition wherein said condenser sheet is positioned adjacent said rearportion of said outer wall.

6. A refrigerated cabinet including an outer wall, an inner wall spacedfrom said outer wall, said outer wall including a rear portion and twoside portions, a condenser normally spaced from said rear portion ofsaid outer wall, said condenser comprising a flat sheet and a continuousrefrigerant-conducting conduit arranged in serpentine form and securedto said sheet, said conduit including sections extending forwardly fromsaid sheet at each end thereof, and means mounting each of said sectionsin slidable heat exchange contact with a corresponding one of said sideportions of said outer wall, said slidable mounting means adapted toafford positioning of said fiat sheet alternatively adjacent said rearportion of said outer wall or spaced therefrom.

WILLIAM G. SPIEGELHALTER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,987,422 Steenstrup Jan. 8, 1935 2,457,009 Tanner Dec. 21,1948

